Providing After School access

Elisabeth Stock, Executive Director of Computers for Youth, a New York City-based nonprofit, argues that providing community access to computers in schools, libraries, and technology centers, while necessary, is not sufficient. She makes a case that public policy to close the digital divide must also focus on bringing technology into homes. In 1999, her organization distributed 228 home computers to families and teachers at a school in the South Bronx, trained some 470 members of the school community, provided technical support and tailored web content, and paid for the first three months of Internet access. A preliminary study after the first year of operation showed that students were using their computers for such meaningful activities as homework, word processing, and finding information on the Internet at the same rate as other school-age children across the nation. Teachers reported that their students’ schoolwork has improved in presentation and quality.

For the full report, please see www.nasbe.org